Phew! It’s been a busy first 10 days of the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller contest. I’ve managed to get 225 orders for over 300 books, which is very exciting! This puts me around 40% of the way to the goal. We’re still early in the process, but thanks to all your support Gumshoe Rules is in the #1 position. 

A few people have asked me about Inkshares and why I chose this route to publication. There were several reasons, but perhaps the most important is that I know two successful authors who have used Inkshares: Tal Klein (The Punch Escrow) and Christopher Huang (A Gentleman’s Murder).  Their books are available in bookstores and on Amazon. Coincidentally, they both sold film or TV rights, which is awesome. If you like Science Fiction, The Punch Escrow is a real treat. For fans of “golden age” mysteries, A Gentleman’s Murder is a modern take on a classic 1920’s genre. But why choose? Buy ’em both!

The other reason I chose Inkshares is more subtle. The publishing industry has gone through tremendous consolidation over the last 10 years. With the advent of the Kindle, eBooks and self-publishing, it seemed like the old model of spending a year to find an agent, pitching publishers and eventually get a book deal seemed like a slow boat to nowhere. Inkshares is a disruptive approach to publishing that takes out the gatekeepers and lets readers decide what kind of books they want to read.  Inkshares seemed like a good middle ground between traditional publishing and the wild-west of self-publishing. They get good distribution through retail channels and the process moves faster than traditional publishing. Seems like a win-win to me!

I’ve spent several weeks emailing everyone I know  and I’ve found that to be 10x more effective than Linkedin or Slack and 100x more effective than Twitter or Facebook. If I can ask you to email two or three friends or colleagues about the book, that is greatly appreciated. Every unique order counts towards the contest, so no one should feel pressure to order multiple copies. Send them a link to:  https://www.inkshares.com/books/gumshoe-rules   With your help I know we can get to 400 orders and beyond.

In subsequent updates, I’ll talk more about the authors who have influenced this book, where readers are coming from as well as answer any questions you have.

Thank you so much for your support!
--Z.Z. Traver
PS. At the Bouchercon mystery writer’s conference, I was able to hang out with Christopher Huang, author of A Gentleman’s Murder, also published by Inkshares 

Dear friends and followers,

We are now one week into the campaign for "Cat’s Paw", and we’re standing at a somewhat precarious 2nd place in the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller Contest. Some of you have already got on board with that campaign, and I am grateful for your ongoing support. I hope more of you will consider doing the same. "A Gentleman’s Murder" has done quite well since its release, and I would like to think that it’s demonstrated my capabilities with a word processor; but one can’t just stop there. It doesn’t pay to be complacent.

Click here for the "Cat’s Paw" project page.

"Cat’s Paw" is somewhat darker than "A Gentleman’s Murder" was, having actually begun as an idea for a horror story. But then, I know mystery a lot better than I know horror, and so it’s classed as a mystery ... albeit one with its roots in a very dark place. But then again, some people would just call that "Noir".

In the meantime, I should like to draw your attention to a Facebook fundraiser a friend of mine started for the American Cancer Society. Cancer is a nasty business, to put it lightly, and these people are doing some very good work about it. I hope you’ll give this fundraiser some consideration.

Dear friends and followers,

It is with great pleasure that I announce to you that THE "CAT’S PAW" CAMPAIGN IS LIVE!

So do please go and tell ’em that yes, you really would pay to read this. Most of you have been through the funding campaign for "A Gentleman’s Murder", and all of you know how it works. Every pre-order represents a vote to see the book published.

More importantly, this will show that "A Gentleman’s Murder" was not just a flash in the pan: that this really could be my life ... tell me you love me.

But you must be wondering, what is "Cat’s Paw" about?

It’s the story of one Roger Linwood as he returns home for his adoptive father’s funeral, only to find that the old man’s death was murder, and that a clause in his will leaves the entirety of the Linwood estate, in the case of an unnatural death, to whichever one of the three Linwood children -- Roger, Alan, or Caroline -- first identifies his killer. But the case seems fairly clear: the only person with access to the scene was Lady Linwood, their adoptive mother, a woman so frail and emotionally devastated that her guilt seems quite unthinkable. Of course, nothing is quite what it seems ... not even the world of Roger Linwood’s idyllic childhood.

While the story is set in the same period as "A Gentleman’s Murder", and while it does involve a murder investigation, this isn’t a Peterkin sequel. It’s quite a bit darker, with an edge of Gothic horror. My plan had been, in fact, to work on the next Peterkin mystery, but this story cut in line and insisted on being told.

The muse will not be denied.

Full confession: I’ve been having a very hard time with some personal things lately, so I haven’t been so terribly diligent on updating everybody. I’ll spare the details (this update is going out to something like over 600 followers of The Animal in Man!), but you should be aware of a couple things:

THE ANIMAL IN MAN FINAL COVER IMAGE!

UPDATED BOOK-SIGNING EVENT DATES

The release date of the Animal in Man was pushed back from late September to October 30th due to some printer issues. Therefore, the events I’d booked had to be pushed back as well.

The Book Cellar, Chicago - - November 1st, 7:00 - 9:00 PM (4736-38 N Lincoln Ave)

Barnes & Noble Naperville - - November 10, 2:00 - 5:00 PM (47 E Chicago Ave)

I’m hoping I can see all my dear animals out en masse.

Ooh! I should make an update! That should happen!

A lot of you already know this, but in my excitement, I neglected to make an official update about it, so here I am, finally doing that.

WE MADE IT!

Proteus is now completely funded! We reached our goal of 750 pre-orders, and the whole project has shifted into production mode. I’ve already been congratulated by Inkshares staff, and they’ve sent me some of the paperwork I’ll need to do in order to launch the book into the production process. It’s really happening!

So what happens next, in terms of Proteus? Well, as any of you who have ordered Tantalus Depths are already painfully aware, the production process takes a very long time. Also, since Tantalus Depths was my first project and people have been waiting the longest for it, it is still going to take most of my attention from now until it launches, so Proteus is something I will have to be working on in the background as I prioritize Tantalus Depths.

My plan is to get Proteus into the editing process shortly before Tantalus Depths is released. The whole intent behind launching my Proteus campaign when I did was to ensure that my second published novel came out no more than a year or two after my first, and my goal is to try and release new books on a yearly or bi-yearly schedule, consistently. Inkshares has finally given me a tentative release date of winter 2019 for Tantalus Depths. It’s much later than I thought it would be, but the delay is necessary to accommodate some new ideas that Inkshares’ CEO has in mind for it. It should be a particularly strong release next year, and Inkshares is showing a lot of confidence in it, so the delay will be worth it.

In the meantime, I’m not going to be idle. I have a surprise project I’m working on that should come out later this fall, to tide everyone over as we wait for Tantalus Depths. I also plan on building myself a proper website, which I’ll be loading with all manner of content related to the universe I’ve created, the art of writing, and the community we’ve formed. Now that the burden of campaigning is over, hopefully for good, I finally feel free to devote more of my time and energy into the parts of this process I actually enjoy: the writing, the creativity, and sharing my work to the world.

For now, I’m taking a week off, ‘cause by golly, I’ve earned it. But after that, work starts anew. We’re going to do great things together.

Hey everyone. Its been a while hasn’t it? We’re so excited to announce our audiobook narrator; Emily Smith. A voice actress and internet marketer, this will be Emily’s first Sci-fi narration. We can’t wait for you to hear her stuff! Stay tuned for more announcements!

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